California is dealing with a crisis with respect to the supply of electrical power available to its citizens in the southern part of the state. This crisis involves the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. I have discussed the San Onofre power plant in previous posts. The power plant is located on the Pacific Coast near San Diego. It is operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). SCE’s parent company, Edison International owns seventy eight percent of the plant.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 09, 2013
Ambient office = .081 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .090 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .094 microsieverts per hour
Dried blueberries from Costco = .067 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .070 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .065 microsieverts per hour
I have discussed my concerns about the impact of financial problems on nuclear safety in the United States. I have recently spent a lot of blog posts on problems involving civilian nuclear reactors in the United States but I have also mentioned and posted links about problems at governmental installation such as the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Savannah River Site is a United States nuclear reservation twenty five miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 08, 2013
Ambient office = .118 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .133 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .114 microsieverts per hour
Redleaf lettuce from Costco = .107 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .075 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .067 microsieverts per hour
One of the constant refrains heard from corporate officials in the United States is that the free market should decide which businesses succeed and which fail. An interesting theory but the market in the United States is anything but free. There are the governmental regulations that businesses decry but they protect the interests and health of the citizens.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 07, 2013
Ambient office = .068 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .072 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .111 microsieverts per hour
Redleaf lettuce from Costco = .123 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .135 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .098 microsieverts per hour
I have dealt in depth with the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in previous posts. Since the U.S. nuclear program which started in the 1940s, a great deal of nuclear research and production have been carried out at Hanford. Many different types of nuclear waste with varying degrees of radioactivity have been buried at Hanford. Some of the containers are leaking and radioactive contamination is moving into the ground water.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 06, 2013
Ambient office = .049 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .067 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .095 microsieverts per hour
Iceberg lettuce from Costco = .107 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .124 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .097 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 05, 2013
Ambient office = .063 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .096 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .083 microsieverts per hour
Carrot from Costco = .077 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .096 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .087 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 04, 2013
Ambient office = .088 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .076 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .108 microsieverts per hour
Hass Avacado from Costco = .151 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .072 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .050 microsieverts per hour
Nuclear power has been touted by its promoters as an answer to concerns about increasing levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and the threat of global warming. It is offered as an interim solution to lower carbon emissions from power plants while alternative energy sources are developed. The reality of carbon emissions from different power sources is very complex.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on May 03, 2013
Ambient office = .092 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .091 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .101 microsieverts per hour
Dried almonds from Costco = .120 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .102 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .093 microsieverts per hour
I have talked about temporary storage of spent fuel rods in dry casks of steel and concrete in previous posts. It is estimated that all the spent fuel pools at all the U.S. reactors will be full in five years unless another storage/disposal method is found. The U.S. DOE now says that it will take at least thirty years to site and build a permanent geological repository for spent fuel.
